Community, Services and Environment Committee wrap up – 14 May 2019

Mural Project- Angelsea Street

A 248 metre iconic concrete wall on Anglesea Street will soon get a makeover thanks to the Beyond Tomorrow Trust.

At the Community, Services and Environment Committee meeting this week, Elected Members approved the mural project citing the vibrancy it would add to Hamilton’s city centre.

The wall, constructed during the 1930s, is a Hamilton City Council owned asset and runs along Anglesea Street from the Collingwood Street intersection to the Ward Street intersection by Wintec.

The artwork is expected to have a life-span of 10 years and will be fully funded and maintained by the Trust making the project cost-neutral to Council.

Painting is expected to get underway in early 2020, after an artist selection process has taken place.

Hamilton Arts Agenda Report Back

The Committee approved the development of a new Arts and Culture Strategy to look more broadly at promoting the features and community facilities that make Hamilton a great river city.

The proposed strategy, which would replace the existing Arts Agenda, would look for opportunities in Hamilton’s changing arts environment including the proposed Regional Theatre, and would have significant input from iwi representatives to mirror aspirations for additional Maaori arts and culture in the city.

Staff indicated to the Committee that any new strategy would be completed by May 2020, enabling appropriate time for research, discussion and engagement with the community.

Hamilton Age Friendly Plan

Community advocate Dame Peggy Koopman-Boyden, Chair of the Hamilton Age Friendly Group, updated Elected Members on the plan to make the city more age-inclusive.

The Hamilton Age Friendly plan, which was supported by Council in early 2018, was developed by several community organisations with the aim to improve the wellbeing of older residents in the city.

Dame Koopman-Boyden updated the Committee on the 48 actions which are to be completed over a four-year period. At the end of the first year, 37 of those actions have started, with a further four being completed. The remaining actions are expected to start in years two and three of the plan.

One highlight of the report was a collaborative project between Rauaawaawa Kaumatua Charitable Trust and Hamilton Libraries to collect oral histories of kaumatua in the area.

Go Eco – State of the Environment Report

Jo Wrigley, Manager of Go Eco, presented an independent report to Councillors about the state of Hamilton City’s environment from a community-led perspective.

The charitable trust support a number of environmental projects with community partners including Kaivolution Food Rescue, monitoring of Hamilton’s native long-tail bat population, and various restorative projects along Hamilton’s substantive gully network.

Other items

The Committee approved a draft submission to the Department of Conservation’s proposal to revoke certain delegations to Territorial Authorities under the Reserves Act 1977.

The Neighbourhood and Amenity Reserves Management Plan was approved.

The Committee approved the draft Disability Policy.

The Class 4 Gambling Venue Policy Statement of Proposal was approved for consultation and will be open for feedback from 17 May to 17 June 2019.

The Committee received reports relating to Single-Year Community Grant Allocation 2019 and the Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Update.

The report relating to Parks, Domains and Reserves Bylaw 2019 was deferred until the next Community, Services and Environment Committee.